


Memories of MOTHER

by Panadopolis



Category: Mother 1 | EarthBound Zero | EarthBound Beginnings, Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound, Mother 3
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, everything's gen/platonic/no ship unless noted otherwise, pretty much canon-compliant, short story collection, tags added as they become relevant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26029735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panadopolis/pseuds/Panadopolis
Summary: A collection of various short stories/oneshots covering all three games in the Mother series.Most are lighthearted retellings of game events, though there will be some darker, angstier moments in here as well.[Edit March 2021: This fic is on indefinite hiatus.]
Kudos: 11





	1. The Paradise Line (M1, Ninten & Lloyd)

**Author's Note:**

> I've written short stories on and off for the Mother fandom, and given that I haven't been inspired to write new Mother stuff for a while now, I figured I may as well post some of my earlier work. 
> 
> These are all circa 2018-early 2019, with most written for various prompts, including an abandoned 100 Themes challenge. Expect to see stories ranging from 500 to several thousand words.
> 
> All of these are self-contained stories, and will be posted in no particular order. Feel free to pick and choose what to read based on your favourite games and characters!
> 
> Fair warning that updates are likely to be very sporadic.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ninten and Lloyd take a train ride in search of the Eight Melodies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually the very first Mother story I ever wrote, seemed appropriate to have it be the first story in this collection.
> 
> Originally written in April 2018 for a starmen.net monthly prompt post.

“This is the Paradise Line 10:30 train from Union Station, destination Reindeer, now departing.” The conductor’s voice boomed over the intercom and echoed down the carriage.

I squirmed in my seat. Finally! This was my first train ride, and I could barely contain my excitement.

Lloyd, if anything, was even more excited than I was – he loved gadgets and machines and science stuff like that. Right now he was pressing his face against the window, eager to take everything in.

I glanced out the window. With the imminent departure, the station was a busy hive of activity: passengers were scurrying between the platform and the ticket booth, workers were examining the tracks and inspecting the train. One man in a gray uniform was patrolling all the way down the train, shutting doors as he went. Good thing we didn’t try sneaking on board at the last minute!

“Passengers, take your seats,” the conductor intoned.

Lloyd peeled his face from the window and plopped down in his seat. We were seated in two rows of vinyl chairs facing each other – not luxurious, but certainly not uncomfortable either. We even got a window all to ourselves!

There was a sudden hiss and we felt the train move. At first it slowly inched forward, but it quickly built up speed. Soon the landscape was whizzing by faster than a Super Mario stage.

Lloyd turned to face me, a huge grin lighting up his face.

“We did it, Ninten! We’re riding the train!”

I couldn’t help but grin too. We’d become fast friends over the last couple of days, and it was great to see Lloyd having a good time.

Besides, I was feeling pleased with myself. Riding the train was _my_ idea, after all.

You see, I had glanced at my map and realized there wasn’t much north of Union Station save some desert. I figured it was high time to hit some of the southern towns to search for the next melody. Trouble was, it would take several days of walking just to reach Reindeer, and we’d have to fight monsters every step of the way.

Or we could take the train from Union Station, rest our feet for a few hours, and even get some good views along the way.

Only downside was the expensive tickets - I barely had enough cash on hand to pay for two tickets to Reindeer, third class. Oh well, maybe Dad would give me a cash advance the next time I talked to him.

“Look Ninten, there’s Merrysville!”

I was jolted from my train of thought by Lloyd tugging my sleeve and pointing out the window.

I glanced outside - the train had just reached the outskirts of Merrysville. Mostly you could just see the city streets, but in the distance there were a few houses and skyscrapers flashing by.  
  
Lloyd seemed pretty excited to see his hometown and was happily pointing out landmarks. “Oh, I think that one’s the hospital. And there’s the Merrysville department store!”

Soon the buildings of Merrysville gave way to trees and rolling hills, and Lloyd and I settled into our seats to enjoy the rest of the ride.

We were on a journey to find long-lost melodies, fight monsters, and maybe even save the world.

But for now, we were just two plain ol’ kids having the time of our lives.


	2. Apples (M3, Claus & Duster)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Missing scene from Chapter 1. Duster discovers Claus doing something suspicious with apples.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally written in September '18 for a starmen.net monthly prompt post.

Duster sighed as he walked through Sunset Cemetery.

He had spent all morning at the funeral. It was a solemn occasion, with the villagers paying their final respects to Hinawa. Poor Lucas spent the entire time crying at his mother’s grave, while Claus got all huffy and stomped off.

Duster hadn’t stayed very long after that. He wasn’t very comfortable in social situations at the best of times, and at the funeral he felt… awkward. It wasn’t that he was unfeeling – on the contrary, he was still reeling from the news of Hinawa’s death – but he hadn’t known Hinawa as well as the other villagers. He felt out of place, like he was intruding.

He wandered through the empty village. The least he could do was check on Claus and make sure he was doing okay. Afterward he’d probably visit Flint, tell him about the funeral and how his sons were doing.

Duster rounded the bend and saw Flint’s house and barn. He squinted his eyes.

At first, it looked like it was deserted. Then he saw a small figure and a tuft of orange hair move through the apple trees in the front yard.

Duster creeped closer.

It was Claus. Duster could just make out the boy’s face – his eyes were narrowed and his jaw was clenched. It was an angry and determined expression, the kind the men bore when they were out on a hunting party. It wasn’t the kind of expression normally associated with picking fruit.

Claus was intensely focused on his task. He would grab an apple, glance at it for a second, then tuck it in one of his pockets. Occasionally he tossed it aside with a scowl.

Duster found himself puzzled. By all accounts Claus was the wild, rambunctious twin. This wasn’t like him at all.

Suddenly Claus stopped when he picked the next, noticeably bigger apple. He grinned for a moment, grabbed a small object from the ground – something glinting, probably a knife – and started hacking into the apple. He yanked out the carved-out piece, jammed another object inside, then carefully inserted the piece back in place.

Duster strode up to the grove. You didn’t need Thief Arts training to know Claus was up to something fishy.

Claus glanced up at the sound of Duster’s footsteps. “Oh, hi!” he said. His tone was bright and cheerful, as if he had been interrupted during a chore.

He waved his hand – diverting Duster’s attention from the other hand shoving the doctored apple in his pocket.

He was a good actor, Duster would give him that. Then again, he probably got a lot of practice over the years talking his way out of things he had no right to be doing.

“Who’re you?” Claus asked. “I don’t remember seeing – oh wait, you’re Duster! Dad told me about you – he says you sneak around at night and your breath smells funny, but you’re a really nice guy! What’re you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure you got home safely,” Duster said.

“Why, ‘cause I ran off?”

“You did leave in an awful hurry.”

Claus shrugged. “I was hungry. Wanted to get some apples.” He flashed a cheerful smile and patted his pockets. “I picked some extra for Lucas.”

That was his first mistake. Never volunteer extra information when lying - and it was obvious Claus was lying. It was a good lie, with the twins as close as they were, but a lie nonetheless.

“Hey, don’t worry about me, I’m doing okay. I just… needed to be alone.” For the first time that smile twitched, his voice wavered.

His next words sounded forced, not at all like Claus’s natural cheery tone. “I’m going out on a walk now. I might be gone for a while, but don’t worry. I’ve got apples in case I get hungry."

He walked past Duster, then stopped. Something flashed across his face.

“Hey, d’you want an apple? You look hungry.” He grabbed an apple off of the ground and tossed it to Duster. “They’re really good, y’know. Make sure you eat every bite!”

Claus marched up the path to the village, then turned back again. “Oh, and don’t tell anyone you saw me. That way we’ll be even.” He winked, then set off on his way.

Duster stared at the apple in his hand, frowning. There must be something wrong with this apple - Claus wasn’t nearly as clever as he made himself out to be. But at first glance it seemed perfectly ordinary…

Duster peered closer, then glanced at some of the apples still on the tree. There – his apple was a slightly lighter shade of red. It wasn’t fully ripe yet, a sure recipe for stomach cramps.

Had Claus thought this far ahead? Those cramps would have bought Claus a couple of seconds for – whatever he was doing with that doctored apple.

Knowing Claus, it would be something reckless, stupid and highly dangerous.

Duster waited a few more seconds, then broke into a run.


	3. Sanctuary (M2, Ness & Ness's Family)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-game. After having a nightmare, Ness seeks a familiar comforting spot.
> 
> Originally written circa mid-2018, with minimal editing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! It's been... quite a while.
> 
> Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons (mostly a combination of focusing on other projects and my own diminishing interest in the Mother series), I no longer have the motivation to type up my old Mother stories.
> 
> As a result, I'm placing this series on indefinite hiatus and marking it as complete. There's a small chance I may add more stories some day, but it's highly unlikely for foreseeable future.
> 
> On a brighter note, here's one last chapter to enjoy!

A horrible rasping sound filled the cavern.

“Help, Ness!” called a voice.

I gulped – that was Paula!

I stumbled toward the direction of the voice, except my body was lumbering along on metal legs.

I waved my tin-can hands in frustration. I was trapped in a robot body!

“Help!” The voice was getting louder – I must be close.

Suddenly something dropped in front of me – Pokey, back inside his slimy mecha-spider vehicle.

“Help!” It was Pokey, except he was speaking with Paula’s voice!

“What have you done with Paula?” I yelled, only it came out as a mess of screeches and whistles.

Pokey sniggered. “You pathetic hero of justice!” he said, still using Paula’s voice. “Are you scared, Ness? Why don’t you cry out for your mommy – not like your PSI’s gonna do any good against the almighty idiot anyway, ahahahaha!”

He laughed, and the red mist behind him swirled. Shapes were forming, each more awful than the last.

The rasping got louder, rising to a chant-

“Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness…”

I tried to cover my ears and block the horrible sound, but my arms rusted off and clattered to the ground.

Where was Jeff? He could fix this. Then it dawned on me – I was all alone.

Pokey’s mecha crawled closer. I tried to run, but my legs melted into a puddle of silvery goo.

“Need a hand?” Paula – no, Pokey said sarcastically. He sneered. “Here, you can have one of mine.”

He punched some buttons in his control panel. There was a whirring sound, then a mechanical limb popped out of the front of his vehicle. It was carrying a large knife.

“So long, Ness! Spankety, spankety!!”

The knife shot out toward my exposed chest-

My eyes flashed open.

I fumbled for the lamp at my bedside, my heart pounding in my chest.

 _Click._ Gentle light flooded through the room.

I let my eyes scan everything – cherished childhood knickknacks, the baseball posters along every inch of wall, piles of dirty clothes scattered all across the floor.

So ordinary, it could have belong to any teenage boy in Eagleland.

I tried to focus on all the mundane details – following the grain of the carpet, examining patterns of shadows, even reciting the statistics of all the baseball players glancing back at me.

_Everything’s okay, it wasn’t real, just another bad dream..._

Slowly the beating of my heart quietened.

I checked the red glow of my alarm clock. 3:31 AM. Still several hours until sunrise.

I curled up in a ball, trying to get my legs (no, my _everything_ ) to stop trembling.

_Stay calm. Take slow, steady breaths. Stay calm…_

_Fat lot of good that’ll do,_ another part of me interrupted. I’d found out the hard way that once your brain gets wound up over something, it’s hard to calm it back down again.

I punched my pillow in frustration. I’d been doing so well the last couple of days. The nightmares hadn’t gone away – they’d never go away, just as I’d never forget that screaming red face – but they’d gotten more manageable. After weeks of torment and restless nights, and then _finally_ sleeping through the night, I’d thought it was the light (dark?) at the end of the tunnel …

I punched the pillow again. I knew what the problem was – Pokey. This was the first time he’d appeared in my nightmares - thanks to the affair and subsequent tabloid blowup courtesy of the Minch family next door, Pokey was squarely in my thoughts.

_Even in my dreams, he’s a colossal pain in the neck._

He was out there somewhere, although ‘somewhere’ might be in a different dimension by now.

But there wasn’t much we could do about that, not until the Phase Distorter was repaired from our battle back in that ancient cave. According to Jeff, the repairs might take another couple of weeks, even months.

In the meantime I’d tried to keep busy with catching up on my schoolwork (as if I had a choice!) and fall intramurals, but…

I glanced at the clock again. 3:44 AM, and my mind was still racing so much to have any hope of falling asleep, and besides the sheets were soaked with sweat.

At times like these, there was only one thing to do.

I went to the closet and pulled out some clothes. I knew I was taking a risk, heading out this time of night – after all, some metal butterfly from the future might arrive and force me into a fight against the Lasermen from the planet Zorg.

I couldn’t help but grin at the absurd thought.

I briefly glanced at the bedside phone. Paula – she’d need to know about the nightmares, but calling her in the middle of the night was bad news when her dad could be scarier than any Starman. Jeff – he’d either be sleeping, in class, or working on some invention, and in any event he’d hate the disturbance. Poo - did they even have phones in Dalaam?

I shook my head and moved on.

The last stop before heading out was the baseball by the bedroom door – couldn’t be too careful.

Speaking of which… I considered heading for the front door, but didn’t want to risk waking anyone up. Leaving by my bedroom window was so much more considerate.

But then again…

I shrugged and headed toward the bedroom door, switching off the lamp as I went.

Leaving by window was fine, sure, but then I’d have trouble getting back up. Besides, if Mom caught me I could – _would_ tell her the truth, that I just wanted some fresh air.

I strode down the hall, keeping the tread of my steps light. Next was creeping down the stairs – then the living room – then grabbing the key off the hook-

I exhaled in relief as I locked the front door. I’d gotten out safely, at least.

I walked down the path to town, idly twirling my bat. The nights were so much calmer now that Giygas’s corrupting influence had vanished. It still felt weird to me, though, and the muscles in my body reflexively tensed, ready for action.

I passed the library, forlorn and closed at this hour. I was tempted to dart down a certain unmarked trail, and see the treehouse – but no, I was too old for that kind of thing now.

Besides, I already had a destination in mind.

There – decrepit as ever. Even the paint on the “KEEP OUT” sign was starting to fade.

In bold defiance of authority, I swung over the fence.

Next came the long, winding cave. I summoned some sparks of PSI to light my way.

A few stray creatures squeaked in alarm and scurried into the shadows, out of sight. Probably antoids and mice – now free of Giygas’s influence, the shy creatures kept their distance from humans.

In no time at all I reached the spot where I fought the Titantic Ant.

When I’d first started my journey this cave had seemed to go on forever. Now that I’d travelled the world, it was barely a stroll.

I smiled at the memories. How long ago was it? It felt like years since I last came here. It had all started one warm summer night – now the trees were decked in their autumn colours.

I stepped through the yawning gap at the far end, and emerged into moonlight. I took a few deep breaths of air, savouring it – it felt so good after the stifling cave.

Here I was. Giant Step. My first Sanctuary.

_Every journey starts with a single step, as they say._

I ran my hand along the giant footprint etched in the ground. A strange power hummed beneath my fingertips. I could feel my worries ebb away.

Giygas was gone – all that was left were bad memories. Unpleasant as they were, nightmares couldn’t defeat me.

And Pokey… there wasn't anything I could do until the Phase Distorter was ready. Worrying wouldn’t help matters, or hurry things along.

There was nothing I could do. Instead, I could use this time for other things – enjoying my friends and family, and just _relaxing_ now that the weight of the entire world was off my shoulders.

_Enjoy the calm before the storm._

I stretched my arms, humming a melody under my breath.

Then I noticed a few pink streaks in the sky – the first hint of daybreak.

Time to get going.

I spun in a circle around the footprint, building up speed.

They always say it takes less time on the return trip.

They probably weren’t talking about teleportation.

I zipped to a halt in front of my house. I didn’t dare try teleporting straight into my bedroom – like an airplane, I needed space to slow to a halt.

I took out the key and unlocked the door. Back through the living room (lucky for me King was a heavy sleeper), then up the stairs, down the hall, into my room-

I flopped into bed, not bothering to change my clothes – the night air made me feel sleepy.

I closed my eyes, already feeling myself drift off to sleep. I thought I heard some muffled voices-

“He came back and went to bed – just like you said, Mommy!”

“Mothers just know these things, Tracy.”

-then I fell into a peaceful slumber.


End file.
